Dme....luggage only.....don't want to ride the bus!!!!!

Okay...here's the deal. We get a ton of posts regarding this issue. If a guest calls Disney and asks if they can tag their bags but not ride the bus, Disney will tell them no, someone has to ride the bus. That is Disney's official stand if a guest calls and asks about it.
In all reality, if a guest tags their checked bags, but does not ride the DME bus to the resort, their bags will, in all probability, still get to their resort. Disney has a contract with MCO that states all DME tagged bags will be transported to WDW resorts.

Now....the only issue you may run into is this....
You tagged 3 bags. You get to your resort, using a towncar or rental car. You do not checkin at the DME welcome counter. You get to your resort, get checked in, and then head off to a park. You return to your room, many hours later, assuming your bags will be there, waiting, in your room. But, you find only 2 bags in your room! So, you call Bell Services and start the search. The airlines have a window in which you should be submitting a claim for missing/misdirected bags....this window may have passed by the time you realize you have missing bags. Of course, WDW/DME may have just sent your missing bag to the wrong resort.

So...long story short....Disney tells you that you have to ride the bus to get your luggage delivered. Disney will move all yellow, DME tagged bags, from MCO to WDW resorts...whether or not you are on a DME bus.

As long as you are aware of what 'could' happen, do what you wish. We have not seen reports of missing baggage here. It just doesn't happen very often...at least we aren't hearing of it happening.

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I suggested this very type of sticky in a private conversation last night. Now, any time someone asks, we can refer them here and let it be. We all know people will still debate, but the official answer is now here!

I was wondering which of my 'regulars' would be the first to post. So.....some of you are having private discussions, are you??!!!
I think if we can direct all inquiries to this stickie, we will have a much friendlier board. No debate needed.

Not sure if this is the appropriate place (a sticky) to ask a question but here goes: I'm curious about DME on the return leg of our trip. We want to take a cab back to MCO so we can have some extra time in the parks. Is it possible to drop our bags off with DME and not take the bus back to MCO?

A. No. To utilize Disney's Magical Express Service, you must participate in both the motor coach transportation and the luggage transfer services.​

OUTBOUND (in the "RESORT AIRLINE CHECK-IN SERVICE FOR DOMESTIC DEPARTURES" section of the FAQ):

Q. Do I have to use Disney's Magical Express Service to participate in the Resort Airline Check-In Service?

A. No. The Resort Airline Check-In Service is available to guests staying at select Walt Disney World® Resort hotels who are flying domestically on participating airlines departing from Orlando International Airport. You may take any transportation from your Resort hotel to Orlando International Airport.​

If you are not staying at a Disney hotel, I've heard you can take your luggage to someplace in Disney Village and have DME deliver it to the airport. Perhaps somebody can share the details on where in Disney Village you have to go to drop off your luggage for this service. This way obviously no Disney DME bus ride would be required.

If you are not staying at a Disney hotel, I've heard you can take your luggage to someplace in Disney Village and have DME deliver it to the airport. Perhaps somebody can share the details on where in Disney Village you have to go to drop off your luggage for this service. This way obviously no Disney DME bus ride would be required.

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That, however, has nothing to do with DME. That is RAC, a completely different entity. DME does not deliver your bags to the airport, RAC does. I sure do wish Disney would stop putting the two in the same service. You do not need to be using DME back to the airport in order to get your bags checked at your resort.

If you are not staying at a Disney hotel, I've heard you can take your luggage to someplace in Disney Village and have DME deliver it to the airport. Perhaps somebody can share the details on where in Disney Village you have to go to drop off your luggage for this service. This way obviously no Disney DME bus ride would be required.

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I believe you're asking about a service offered by Virgin Atlantic, an air carrier that flies to the UK.

The service, called Virgin Valet, is located outside Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney. Virgin Atlantic passengers can check their bags and obtain their boarding pass. The service does not involve DME or RAC.

So we have thought about sending our bags on DME and taking a limo to our hotel to save time, we get in around 6pm on Fri Jan 23 and we're afraid that the DME lines may be huge at that time.

you guys have any tips or suggestions before I book the car?

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You will save about 45 mins tops by using a towncar/limo service. With a car service, you will be picked up, at baggage claim. If you tag your bags, they, obviously, won't come out and you don't claim them. You will most likely be on your way to your resort about 15 mins, getting you to the resort about 4540 mins after you land. Then, you will have to wait for your bags just like everyone else.
If you were to take DME, you would, most likely again, be at your resort within 70 mins, again without your checked bags. I have gotten to my resort within 50 mins and as long as 85 mins...but more often it is in the 60-70 min range.

Be sure to pack anything you will need for the first 6 hrs of your vacation in your carryon bags....doesn't matter how you get to the resort. Airlines misdirect luggage and yours could go to 'who knows where'. And DME can take up to 5 hrs to get to you...so better safe than sorry.

The only thing I will say as far as using DME for luggage and paying for a towncar is this....while I don't enjoy lugging my stuff around the airport and hate wasting the 20 or so minutes at baggage claim, I also can't justify spending over $100 for a private car service and still have to wait hours on end for my luggage to arrive. That just annoys me to death. So..if I took a towncar, I would be getting my own luggage. But, others disagree.

There really are no 'hints or suggestions' out there. Just tag the bags and they should be delivered to your resort up to 5 hrs after resort checkin.

I am not sure if I should post this here or start a new topic, The yellow tickets. Since we are 2 families and one person booked the rooms and the vacation, will the tags just get sent to the person who made the trip or will the send it to both families?
Thanks

I am not sure if I should post this here or start a new topic, The yellow tickets. Since we are 2 families and one person booked the rooms and the vacation, will the tags just get sent to the person who made the trip or will the send it to both families?
Thanks

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The luggage tags will be sent, in one info packet, to the main person on the reservation...that would be whoever made the reservation. That person will, in turn, have to get the luggage tags and vouchers to the other family.

Hi - our flight home on 9/1/09 leaves about 5:30 p.m. Since we need to be out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m. and we won't have a PH ticket left for that day, we are pondering checking out of the hotel, checking our bags in (we are travelling via AirTran and can use the early bag check-in), and then going to a Disney resort for a very late breakfast or early lunch.

Then, after lunch, we would like to catch the DME from the resort hotel to the airport. Since I'll be calling in next week for ADRs, I wanted to learn first of all if we could do this (catch DME from a hotel other than the one we stayed in) and if so, how much time we should allow to get to the airport? Does DME give you a pick-up time based on when your flight is leaving?

Hi - our flight home on 9/1/09 leaves about 5:30 p.m. Since we need to be out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m. and we won't have a PH ticket left for that day, we are pondering checking out of the hotel, checking our bags in (we are travelling via AirTran and can use the early bag check-in), and then going to a Disney resort for a very late breakfast or early lunch.

Then, after lunch, we would like to catch the DME from the resort hotel to the airport. Since I'll be calling in next week for ADRs, I wanted to learn first of all if we could do this (catch DME from a hotel other than the one we stayed in) and if so, how much time we should allow to get to the airport? Does DME give you a pick-up time based on when your flight is leaving?

A big thank you for any help! I really appreciate it.

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No, as of this time, you have to depart from the resort you are staying at. Your DME reservation is tied to your resort. Yes, it would be nice if you could choose where to leave from, but that isn't an option at the moment.
DME, does indeed, give you a pickup time based on your flight departure. If you have a flight leaving at 5:30, DME will pick you up about 2:30ish. You will need to be back at your resort about 45 mins or so before that pickup time. The time you are given is the time the bus leaves, not the time you should show up. So...you need to be at the bus stop about 15-20 mins before the p/u time given. If you have left any carryon bags at luggage services, at your resort, you will need 10 or so mins to get those bags handed off to you. A last minute bathroom trip, and a walk through the gift shop and you're ready to go.